It was announced on Tuesday morning that Colin Tizzard's popular chaser Cue Card has been retired before his planned swansong at Sandown after a fabulous career featuring nine wins at the highest level.BET £5 AND GET A FREE £10 BET WITH SUN BETS

By Matt Butler

17th April 2018, 12:37 pm

Updated: 17th April 2018, 12:37 pm

JEAN BISHOP, owner of Cue Card, has led the tributes to her immensely popular chaser after it was announced he had been retired on Tuesday.

The 12-year-old, trained by Colin Tizzard, was scheduled to bid farewell on the track by having a final outing in the bet365 Oaksey Chase at Sandown on the final day of the jumps season.

However, the nine-time Grade 1 winner, who amassed £1.45million in prize money during his superb and lengthy career, had failed to sparkle on the gallops and so the early retirement decision was made.

Cue Card first hit the headlines when winning the Champion Bumper at the Festival in 2010 and despite all of the success that followed, it is that first Grade 1 win that Bishop has pinpointed to be her happiest memory of the legendary horse.

"I think my favourite day was the Cheltenham Bumper because that was so unexpected, he was 40-1 and it was the beginning of everything for him," said Bishop.

"If it wasn't for Sprinter Sacre, he might have had another three or four Grade 1s. We never ran away from anything and he took them all on, he was the only one that did.

"He always tried his best and sometimes he wasn't beaten that far by him."

Cue Card's last win came in the Grade 1 Ascot Chase in February 2017 and he bows out having won 16 of his 41 races, including three Betfair Chases, two Ascot Chases, a Ryanair Chase and a King George.

Cue Card's thrilling victory over Vautour in the 2015 King George was another career highlight

He was arguably at his best in the 2015-16 season, when he won the Charlie Hall at Wetherby and the Betfair Chase before adding the King George at Kempton after a thrilling battle on Boxing Day with the classy Vautour.

Perhaps the 2016 Cheltenham Gold Cup was the one that got away, as he headed into the race the 5-2 joint-favourite and on the cusp of winning the £1million Triple Crown bonus, but he fell three fences from home when still travelling strongly.

"I think his longevity made it him stand out. He did miss the Gold Cup one year but we've never been hard on him, he was never over-raced, he was healthy all the time," said Bishop.

"There was the one season, which you'd say was his highlight, the year he nearly won the bonus. Even after his fall, he went back to win at Aintree. He always came back.